Every year, around 120,000 people gather in Luitpoldhain to listen to Nuremberg's two major orchestras. Thanks to the support of many individuals and local businesses, admission was once again free in 2024. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who brings music to life in Europe’s greenest concert hall. In 2024, the program was filled with great emotions. On July 21 at 11 a.m., a family concert took place with Philipp Roosz as the moderator. In the evening, at 8 p.m., it was time for the world’s most famous love story. Roland Böer, General Music Director of the Nuremberg State Philharmonic, made his Luitpoldhain debut with both well-known and newly discovered works inspired by Romeo and Juliet. The evening was hosted by Tobias Föhrenbach. On August 3 at 8 p.m., the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra, featuring soloists Alexej Gerassimez (percussion) and Martynas Levickis (accordion), brought world-famous film music to the stage under the theme “All Roads Lead to Hollywood”. The concert, conducted by Jonathan Darlington and hosted by Roland Kunz, offered a magical cinematic experience.

Photos: Uwe Niklas

Looking Back at 2024:
The Mediterranean connects the three continents of Europe, Africa, and Asia. It is a place of longing and a popular travel destination, a melting pot of cuisines, arts, and cultures, yet also a perilous barrier for many seeking a new life. In 2024, the Bardentreffen festival in Nuremberg’s historic city center showcased a diverse range of music from the Mediterranean region, positioned at the crossroads of East and West, alongside sounds from around the world. The festival provided a unique forum for the cultural diversity of today’s global society, highlighting music as a unifying element in public urban spaces. Germany’s largest world music festival was once again free to attend in 2024, thanks to the support of numerous sponsors, and took place from Friday, July 26, to Sunday, July 28. The Project Office for Culture welcomed approximately 200,000 guests over the three festival days, marking the start of the Bavarian summer holidays.

Photos: Uwe Niklas

Germany’s largest guided tour marathon invites visitors to discover Nuremberg and Fürth from a variety of perspectives. Under the theme “Perspectives,” the 2025 program promises an exciting experience: over 300 city guides will open doors to hidden places and offer exclusive behind-the-scenes insights.

Photos: Uwe Niklas

Looking Back at 2024:
Stars im Luitpoldhain is one of Europe’s largest jazz concerts, drawing over 40,000 attendees. International jazz stars, who usually perform in the world’s great concert halls, gather for this special evening in the Franconian metropolis. The driving force behind this biennial concert is Nuremberg drummer Wolfgang Haffner. On August 4, 2024, he brought together remarkable companions, including Swedish singer Ida Sand, renowned for her powerful yet delicate voice. Also featured, with free admission, were Shantel, blending Balkan beats with electronics and world music, and iconic jazz trumpeter Randy Brecker from the USA, who has significantly influenced the jazz world. Additionally, Brazilian superstar and multi-Grammy winner Ivan Lins once again captivated the Luitpoldhain audience with his vocals. Last but not least, the German-Swedish supergroup 4 Wheel Drive—featuring Nils Landgren, Michael Wollny, Lars Danielsson, and Wolfgang Haffner himself—delivered a standout performance. Under the direction of Jörg Achim Keller, the specially assembled German All Star Big Band added to the evening's brilliance.

Photos: Uwe Niklas

Blaue Nacht, as a night of art and culture, offers a diverse range of events, including participatory ones, from over 40 cultural institutions that represent the impressive variety of Nuremberg’s cultural life. Municipal, state, church, and private institutions are contributing their own programs for the 2025 annual theme “Love and Peace.” Confirmed participants include the KunstKulturQuartier with Kunsthalle, Kunstvilla, and the newly reopened Künstlerhaus, the City Archive, the Krakauer Haus, Kunstbunker, Kreis-Galerie, the German Museum Nuremberg, the DB Museum, the Imperial Castle, Eckstein, the Caritas-Pirckheimer-Haus with the Alliance against Right-Wing Extremism, Club Stereo, Kulturkellerei, and Theater Salz & Pfeffer. Major attractions for the approximately 120,000 visitors will be the large projection on the Imperial Castle and the art installation in the Main Market. As a preview, on Friday, May 16, eight to ten art installations and actions from the international Blaue-Nacht art competition will be showcased.

Photos: Uwe Niklas, Steffen Kirschner, Jacco Kliesch, Cassandra Wolf

Zukunftsmusik brings new life to the city center with contemporary art and culture, surrounding the vacant building of the former Kaufhof. The large new program, initiated and curated by the Projektbüru Kultur, comprises several modules in public spaces and serves as a signal for change. Throughout the summer, objects will appear over several months, and invitations for participation will be extended. Together with actors from the fields of art and music, architecture and urban planning, business and science, politics, and urban society, small and large events will be staged to encourage bold and collaborative approaches to shaping the future. While the property remains closed due to the ongoing insolvency process, an initial intervention takes place in the exterior space: a mining tower, designed by the internationally renowned collective raumlaborberlin, unveils new perspectives, disrupts familiar paths, and offers unexpected viewpoints.

Zukunftsmusik is supported by the Free State of Bavaria as part of the Bavarian Urban Development Program.

Photos: Julien Fertl, Sebastian Miltenberger

The extensive legacy of arguably Nuremberg's most famous artist and its significant impact on the city's identity and perception are rediscovered within contemporary contexts. In 2024, the Project Office for Culture initiates the new format "Dürers Echo", bringing artworks and international artists from around the world to the metropolitan region. They engage with Albrecht Dürer's work, his worldview, and his role as an artist, relating them to contemporary themes. The aim is to open up new perspectives on Nuremberg as a hub in the map of international art in the present, bringing fresh ideas and viewpoints to various locations throughout the city. An interdisciplinary series of events will be realized in collaboration with various institutions and partners from beyond the region. Updates on the "Dürers Echo" series, starting 2025, will be available here soon.